Florida in 2000 was, without question, a perfect storm of incompetence and Election Day treachery. Unfortunately, there was a presidency hanging in the balance and the final tally, even with the massive disfranchisement effort to keep blacks and Hispanics from voting, was still too close to call. The voting machines, unable to get an accurate count, not least because of the ballots with imperfect chad punches, were blamed. Gore therefore requested a hand recount. And that’s when the momentum swung, as Bush’s margin of victory began to shrink rapidly, from 1,784 votes to 327, then to 154.153
